OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — Israel said on Wednesday that
a US plan to reopen its consulate in Jerusalem that has traditionally been a
base for diplomatic outreach to Palestinians is a "bad idea" and
could destabilize Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's new government.
اضافة اعلان
The prior administration of President Donald Trump signaled
support for Israel's claim on Jerusalem as its capital by moving the US embassy
there from Tel Aviv and subsuming the consulate in that mission.
It was among several moves that incensed the Palestinians,
who want East
Jerusalem as capital of a hoped-for, future state.
President Joe Biden has pledged to restore ties with the
Palestinians, back a two-state solution, and move forward with reopening the
consulate. It has been closed since 2019, with Palestinian affairs handled by
the embassy.
"We think it's a bad idea," Foreign Minister Yair
Lapid told a news conference when asked about the reopening. "Jerusalem is
the sovereign capital of Israel and Israel alone, and therefore we don't think
it's a good idea.
"We know that the (Biden) administration has a
different way of looking at this, but since it is happening in Israel, we are
sure they are listening to us very carefully."
Wasel Abu Youssef, a senior Palestine Liberation
Organization official, told Reuters that the Israeli rejection of the
consulate's opening was expected, adding: "They are trying to maintain the
status quo and block any political solution".
The US embassy had no immediate comment.
Israel deems all of Jerusalem its undivided capital — a
status not recognized internationally.
It captured the city's east, along with the occupied West
Bank and Gaza, in the 1967 Middle East war.
Bennett, a nationalist atop a cross-partisan coalition,
opposes Palestinian statehood. Reopening the consulate could unsettle Bennett's
government, which ended long-term premier Benjamin Netanyahu's tenure in June,
Lapid said.
"We have an interesting and yet delicate structure of
our government and we think this might destabilize this government and I don't
think the American administration wants this to happen," he said.
Divisions among
Palestinians also cast doubt about the
prospects for diplomacy, Lapid said. "I am a devoted believer in the
two-state solution ... but we'll have to admit the fact this is not feasible in
the current situation."
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